Betrayal: Reckless Desires (Dark Wolves Book 2) Read Free Page B

pack”. The last thing she needed was for them to find out she was Mahehkan. “When I was younger. I learned a lot from the others.”
    Malec sighed and snuggled against his mother, his eyelids drooping. Argram came close, stroking his son’s hair, his fingers not quite steady. “There weren’t any children where we are from. We don’t have that knowledge. Thank you for helping Malec,” he said, his voice thick.
    “You’re welcome. I’m happy to help. I’ll leave this here. It’s safe to use every few hours. So that you know, the teeth can be bothersome for some time. Don’t worry if the swelling goes down and then comes up again. Once his sharp, little teeth poke through, the worst of it will be over.” She took a step toward the front door. “Oh, and I’ll get a teething ring for you to put in the freezer. The cold helps with the swelling, and the chewing helps get the teeth through.”
    “Thank you,” Miga said with a wobbly smile.
    Amalija made her way past Wesken, who hadn’t moved from the spot he’d taken by the living room door when he’d come back with the supplies she’d asked him to get for the little guy’s sore gums. He grunted to his brother, who grunted something back, and then he was with her again as they made their way to the village center. The men still stood where they had been, each of them watching as they approached.
    “He’s resting. Amalija was right. His teeth are coming in,” he said loud enough for everyone to hear. The collective sigh of the group had Amalija smiling. All the muscle and testosterone-ridden men brought to their knees by a teething toddler.
    Noticing her forgotten bundle on the ground where she had shifted to her human form a short while ago, she hurried to grab it and held it tight to her chest. It didn’t look like anyone had tampered with it. She turned to Wesken and forced her smile back on. “Thank you for accompanying me back to the village. I think I’ll go drop this off at home, then work in the garden for a while.”
    Wesken tilted his head to the side. “I haven’t been to the garden in a while. Mind if I come along?”
    Amalija’s heart leaped. This was when he was supposed to excuse himself and do other things, not hang around with her. When he’d had the other pack mates turn to give her privacy to shift, something inside her melted a little. Okay a lot. Not only was he protective of her, but he was a little possessive. Something the woman in her wasn’t that keen on, but the wolf inside her needed. If it weren’t for the secrets she kept, she would have loved to have a mate like Wesken. Beneath the growls and snarls, he was a good man who cared about his family—about his pack. Plus, he smelled like heaven, and when those intense eyes of his locked on her, she felt like the entire world around her melted away.
    ***
    What he should be doing was heading back into the forest and looking for any sign of the enemy. It wasn’t just the Mahehkan pack they had to contend with—though over the last few days, he’d scented them on the outskirts of the Komoro territory—but also the Erritrols, their oldest, most ferocious enemies. They knew where to find the Komoro pack—and Malec. It was only a matter of time before they came back. He and Argram had discussed moving the entire village, but that would only delay the inevitable. No, they would stay and fight.
    Only months before finding and joining the Komoro pack, he, as well as all of his men, including Miga and Malec, were Erritrol. They had been released from a centuries-old curse by a woman with a heart so pure that she’d sacrificed everything for them. But not all Erritrols had been saved. Those who’s hearts had had no kindness left in them at all, who had succumbed too deeply to the darkness, had remained the savage, evil beasts they were. And now they wanted Malec. Maybe they sought their salvation, but he didn’t think so. It was more likely that they wanted to hurt Miga. She